tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27301161717506980782014-10-04T21:54:29.658-04:00Disclosures of a Dirty FeministNot only does the shoe fit, I look absolutely stunning in it.Tiffany Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351330450277442580noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730116171750698078.post-14559720827820038512009-07-15T11:17:00.006-04:002009-07-15T11:29:15.295-04:00A Whole New Generation of Space Monkeys<span style="font-family:times new roman;">What does this remind you of?</span><br /><br /><object style="font-family: times new roman;" width="400" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wj2JP1BzhfQ&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wj2JP1BzhfQ&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="340"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Give up?</span><br /><br /><object style="font-family: times new roman;" width="400" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wo-wkv8gW6k&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wo-wkv8gW6k&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Ladies and gentlemen, for your midweek enjoyment, I bring you the latest update on what Tyler Durden has been up to.</span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">He's become a scientologist. And apparently he was also very inspired by Barack Obama, because, hey, why else would he have so much hope about the human spirit while writing the script for the scientology commercial?</span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">I must say this is quite a 180 on his outlook on the human population. Apparently, he has decided that everyone is a special and unique snowflake.</span>Tiffany Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351330450277442580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730116171750698078.post-37598117949131957512009-07-02T22:08:00.004-04:002009-07-03T13:35:43.129-04:00Homosexuality Legalized in India<a style="font-family: times new roman;" href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Gay-ruling-Now-we-are-in-the-21st-century/articleshow/4731117.cms">The Times of India </a><span style="font-family:times new roman;">posted a great brief about the legalization of homosexuality in India.</span> <blockquote style="font-family: times new roman;">"No one can label us as criminals now,’’ said Rohit sporting an ear-to-ear grin. ‘‘The thought that we can’t be harassed on the pretext of law is a big relief,’’ added the gay rights activist in Chandigarh.</blockquote><a style="font-family: times new roman;" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/03/world/asia/03india.html?_r=1&amp;scp=4&amp;sq=gay%20india&amp;st=cse">The New York Times</a><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> elaborated on the law that had been overturned. According to their report, the law had been put in place by British colonists during Britain's rule over India. Many gay rights activists saw the law as an "archaic holdover from colonialism".</span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> </span><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Many people are thrilled with the change. While the courts that overturned the law rule that it is unconstitutional when compared with laws that guarantee individual liberty and protection against discrimination, others say that the law will have a negative effect on the youth in India, New York Times reports. </span> <div style="text-align: left; font-family: times new roman;"><blockquote>“This is wrong,” said Maulana Abdul Khaliq Madrasi, a vice chancellor of Dar ul-Uloom, the main university for Islamic education in India. The decision to bring Western culture to India, he said, will “corrupt Indian boys and girls.”<br /><br />"The High Court’s decision should be overturned, said Murli Manohar Joshi, the leader of the main opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. “The High Court cannot decide all things,” he said.<br /></blockquote></div> <span style="font-family:times new roman;"> I am happy for all of the gay men and women who have been liberated from social stigma and harassment. Reports say that the law was not often used to jail practicing or open homosexuals, but rather as another way to dehumanize and embarrass them.</span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> </span><span style="font-family:times new roman;">From what I've seen in documentaries about the relationship between some middle eastern cultures and homosexuality, there's a conception that homosexuality is a concept that youth can pick up if they become too "westernized". As if homosexuality is a trend that you can pick up like wearing Converse or Adidas. Muslim culture, according to the documentary "I Exist", plays heavily into this. </span> <span style="font-family:times new roman;"><br /><br />Anita George, student at the University of Georgia and one of my friends, said Madrasi's objection to the overturn probably stemmed more from his Muslim background rather than Indian culture.</span><span style="font-family:times new roman;">George said despite the fact that there is some social stigma in India against homosexuality, homosexuality in Indian culture is "not a new phenomenon".</span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;">"It was a part of society for a very long time. There is even a huge chunk of the Kama Sutra devoted to the practice of homosexuality," said George. "Maybe the fact that Indians are against it is part of the islamic influence or even where the western culture influence comes into play. Because [during the period when] the Kama Sutra [was written] Indians... didn't seem to care about homosexuality either way."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">The passages in the </span><a style="font-family: times new roman;" href="http://www.spaceandmotion.com/kama-sutra-homosexuality.htm">Kama Sutra</a><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> that deal with homosexuality seem to be ambivalent about the morality of the sexuality. Some passages seem to indicate that sexual acts between two men are fine as long as love is involved, or if the custom of the country allows, others insist that fellatio should never be preformed by learned men but do not say if it is correct for two men to be in a relationship. There aren't many verses that deal with relationships between women, but it does say that "some women of the harem, when they are amorous, do the acts of the mouth on the yonis of one another, and some men do the same thing with women. The way of doing this (i.e. of kissing the yoni) should be known from kissing the mouth."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">I find it interesting that the objections to homosexuality in India were more based on social stigma, even when the law against homosexuality was in place. That system has a lot in common with the fact that the opposition to homosexual marriage in America generally has more to do with social or religious objections than with a conflict with our national philosophy.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a target="_blank" href="http://clk.atdmt.com/goiframe/119657860/154151264/direct/01" onclick="(new Image).src='http://t.atdmt.com'"><br /></a></div>Tiffany Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351330450277442580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730116171750698078.post-88133296348421749622009-06-19T10:46:00.004-04:002009-06-19T10:58:32.925-04:00Discussions Across the Table<span style="font-family: times new roman;">The Daily Show hosted Mike Huckabee last night. Jon Stewart and Mike Huckabee had a very lively discussion about reproductive rights. While only the shortened version was shown on television, the full version shown on TheDailyShow.com is very much worth watching. The full interview is a very good representation of the main issues presented by both sides, how they can be presented intelligently, and gives a good example of a lively but polite and open engagement of ideas by people who hold different opinions on hot button issues. I really had a lot of respect for Mike Huckabee during this interview.<br /><br />There were instances where I disagreed with his opinions, but he was also very respectful of the pro-choice side while sticking to his own thoughts and ideals, and he considered many of the options that were presented to him with grace. I think it is evident, though I will state it, that I have always had respect for Jon Stewart and the way he conducts himself in interviews. At any rate, I leave the links to the videos for any who wish to watch it. I look forward to any who wish to leave their own thoughts and criticisms.</span><br /><br /><br /><table style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); background-color: rgb(245, 245, 245);" width="360" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" height="353"><tbody><tr style="background-color: rgb(229, 229, 229);" valign="middle"><td style="padding: 2px 1px 0px 5px;"><a target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/">The Daily Show With Jon Stewart</a></td><td style="padding: 2px 5px 0px; text-align: right; font-weight: bold;">Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c</td></tr><tr style="height: 14px;" valign="middle"><td style="padding: 2px 1px 0px 5px;" colspan="2"><a target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=231388&amp;title=mike-huckabee-extended">Mike Huckabee Extended Interview Pt. 1</a></td></tr><tr style="height: 14px; background-color: rgb(53, 53, 53);" valign="middle"><td colspan="2" style="padding: 2px 5px 0px; overflow: hidden; width: 360px; text-align: right;"><a target="_blank" style="color: rgb(150, 222, 255); text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/">thedailyshow.com</a></td></tr><tr valign="middle"><td style="padding: 0px;" colspan="2"><embed style="display: block;" src="http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:item:comedycentral.com:231388" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="window" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="autoPlay=false" allowscriptaccess="always" allownetworking="all" bgcolor="#000000" width="360" height="301"></embed></td></tr><tr style="height: 18px;" valign="middle"><td style="padding: 0px;" colspan="2"><table style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;" width="100%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" height="100%"><tbody><tr valign="middle"><td style="padding: 3px; width: 33%;"><a target="_blank" style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/index.jhtml">Daily Show<br />Full Episodes</a></td><td style="padding: 3px; width: 33%;"><a target="_blank" style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.indecisionforever.com/">Political Humor</a></td><td style="padding: 3px; width: 33%;"><a target="_blank" style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/?searchterm=jason+jones">Jason Jones in Iran</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); background-color: rgb(245, 245, 245);" width="360" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" height="353"><tbody><tr style="background-color: rgb(229, 229, 229);" valign="middle"><td style="padding: 2px 1px 0px 5px;"><a target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/">The Daily Show With Jon Stewart</a></td><td style="padding: 2px 5px 0px; text-align: right; font-weight: bold;">Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c</td></tr><tr style="height: 14px;" valign="middle"><td style="padding: 2px 1px 0px 5px;" colspan="2"><a target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=231389&amp;title=mike-huckabee-exclusive">Mike Huckabee Exclusive Interview Pt. 2</a></td></tr><tr style="height: 14px; background-color: rgb(53, 53, 53);" valign="middle"><td colspan="2" style="padding: 2px 5px 0px; overflow: hidden; width: 360px; text-align: right;"><a target="_blank" style="color: rgb(150, 222, 255); text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/">thedailyshow.com</a></td></tr><tr valign="middle"><td style="padding: 0px;" colspan="2"><embed style="display: block;" src="http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:item:comedycentral.com:231389" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="window" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="autoPlay=false" allowscriptaccess="always" allownetworking="all" bgcolor="#000000" width="360" height="301"></embed></td></tr><tr style="height: 18px;" valign="middle"><td style="padding: 0px;" colspan="2"><table style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;" width="100%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" height="100%"><tbody><tr valign="middle"><td style="padding: 3px; width: 33%;"><a target="_blank" style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/index.jhtml">Daily Show<br />Full Episodes</a></td><td style="padding: 3px; width: 33%;"><a target="_blank" style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.indecisionforever.com/">Political Humor</a></td><td style="padding: 3px; width: 33%;"><a target="_blank" style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/?searchterm=jason+jones">Jason Jones in Iran</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); background-color: rgb(245, 245, 245);" width="360" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" height="353"><tbody><tr style="background-color: rgb(229, 229, 229);" valign="middle"><td style="padding: 2px 1px 0px 5px;"><a target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/">The Daily Show With Jon Stewart</a></td><td style="padding: 2px 5px 0px; text-align: right; font-weight: bold;">Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c</td></tr><tr style="height: 14px;" valign="middle"><td style="padding: 2px 1px 0px 5px;" colspan="2"><a target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=231390&amp;title=mike-huckabee-exclusive">Mike Huckabee Exclusive Interview Pt. 3</a></td></tr><tr style="height: 14px; background-color: rgb(53, 53, 53);" valign="middle"><td colspan="2" style="padding: 2px 5px 0px; overflow: hidden; width: 360px; text-align: right;"><a target="_blank" style="color: rgb(150, 222, 255); text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/">thedailyshow.com</a></td></tr><tr valign="middle"><td style="padding: 0px;" colspan="2"><embed style="display: block;" src="http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:item:comedycentral.com:231390" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="window" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="autoPlay=false" allowscriptaccess="always" allownetworking="all" bgcolor="#000000" width="360" height="301"></embed></td></tr><tr style="height: 18px;" valign="middle"><td style="padding: 0px;" colspan="2"><table style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;" width="100%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" height="100%"><tbody><tr valign="middle"><td style="padding: 3px; width: 33%;"><a target="_blank" style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/index.jhtml">Daily Show<br />Full Episodes</a></td><td style="padding: 3px; width: 33%;"><a target="_blank" style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.indecisionforever.com/">Political Humor</a></td><td style="padding: 3px; width: 33%;"><a target="_blank" style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/?searchterm=jason+jones">Jason Jones in Iran</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>Tiffany Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351330450277442580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730116171750698078.post-63843520157060591782009-05-26T15:41:00.003-04:002009-05-29T15:40:50.802-04:00Lessons for Girls: You Can Say No<a style="font-family: times new roman;" href="http://www.historiann.com/">Historiann</a><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> has been hosting a great series of posts that contain lessons for women. I've decided to and add my own lesson:</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:times new roman;" > it's okay to say no</span><span style="font-family:times new roman;">. I know full well that I am hypocrite as I write this. I am the world's worst person at saying no to anyone -- which will lend this lesson a note of authenticity. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">This lesson is seemingly simplistic. The idea of turning someone down for something -- a favor, a date, an engagement, a job, etc. -- when out of context has none of the threat or implications that it does in the actual situation. Also, in my personal experience, when I imagine turning someone down for something, it's never someone that I actually like. Performing favors for my friends, family, and teachers -- people who I admire -- is never something I see as burdensome. This is actually where the problem can arise. You can overstretch yourself.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">It's great to do favors for your friends -- to be there for them, support them, and try to make them happy. Performing favors and tasks for your friends can also be a reward in itself. It can make you feel more accomplished and strengthen the bond between you and the other person. But that reward will be missing from the equation if favors are done out of necessity -- a kind of "I have to do it" mentality.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">That's not to say that you still don't have your friend's best interest at heart. There's this kind of mentality that if you turn them down for this favor it will in some way damage the strength of the relationship. And this kind of fear can persist through any relationship. The same fear of not being a good friend/lover/student/whatever can come through in any situation: whether you want to turn your friend down for help with a science paper because you have to read 300 pages that night, or whether you hold your tongue while you make your lover's dinner, even though you have a terrible headache and really just want to go sleep. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Girls are often raised to be caretakers. It's that mother/wife/daughter/homemaker role at work again. It reminds me of the beginning of a poem by Maya de Angelou titled "Woman Work":</span><br /><br /><blockquote style="font-family: times new roman;">I’ve got the children to tend<br />The clothes to mend<br />The floor to mop<br />The food to shop<br />Then the chicken to fry<br />The baby to dry<br />I got company to feed<br />The garden to weed<br />I’ve got shirts to press<br />The tots to dress<br />The cane to be cut<br />I gotta clean up this hut<br />Then see about the sick<br />And the cotton to pick.</blockquote><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Men are raised with responsibility as well, but in my house it's always been the woman who has to "make it work" -- as far as the household running smoothly goes, that is. The man is held responsible for how sucessful his son is, and for religious/moral upbringing, but a woman is judged by how smooth her household runs.<br /><br />There was unbelieveable pressure on my mother to get the kids to school, take us to sports practice, music lessons, clubs, events, parties, cook dinner, keep the house clean, and still accept invitations from her friends. She often couldn't keep up with the demand, or didn't. My father often berated her for being lazy, and my sister and I would pick up the slack where we could. The more the demand grew, and the more pressure she felt, the more she froze up. My grandmothers juggled the same hectic schedules -- some of them more crowded and chaotic. And I've absorbed some of those lessons. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Now I'm nineteen and in college, and I've always been fairly certain that the only way I can get everything done is if I stop sleeping. What further complicates matters is that I feel guilty if, after I've become worn from going non stop for days, I want some time to myself and have to turn my friends down for dinner or for help on something. Sometimes I simply insist on doing more for them just to alleviate the guilt. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">If, finally, I ask for some time to myself or turn down a favor, after I have put it off forever and feel like I will explode, a miraculous thing happens -- nothing. My friends normally comply with my request. They find it completely normal. They weren't even aware, most of the time, that I was feeling overworked, stressed, or like a lot was being demanded of me. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">The hard part was not obtaining whatever it was that I needed, or opting out of whatever it was that they wanted -- it was simply getting to the point where I could tell them no. For some reason, that idea that turning people down is wrong is so deeply engrained in me that it feels hard to even get the words out. I feel traitorous. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">We have to get to the point where we can tell people no -- no matter what it is that we're declining. It is unhealthy for both the person who wants to decline and the person who is asking for that favor to be in a state where the favor being fulfilled feels oblagatory. Every person on this planet has enough pressure on them without feeling like their are going to be consequences for their not wanting to do whatever task happens to be at hand. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">We have been brought up to be caretakers, but that doesn't mean we are solely responsible for making sure that the world runs smoothly and that everyone gets exactly what they want. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">So you can't go that art exhibit on Tuesday because you have to study, or you can't help with that paper because your sick. Maybe you can't do whatever it is because you just don't feel like it. You're not slacking off. You're not a terrible friend. They'll understand, the explanation isn't owed, and there will be other times.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">And if they don't understand, maybe that's a reflection that the relationship wasn't so strong to begin with, not that you dealt the crushing blow by turning them down. </span>Tiffany Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351330450277442580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730116171750698078.post-1271443757121481582009-05-26T13:56:00.002-04:002009-05-26T14:18:57.481-04:00Tuesday Movie Review: Live Nude Girls, Unite!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_-UyaM1ZGVLU/Shwtd2IQIlI/AAAAAAAAACo/Ex_-4KioA0M/s1600-h/nudegirls1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_-UyaM1ZGVLU/Shwtd2IQIlI/AAAAAAAAACo/Ex_-4KioA0M/s320/nudegirls1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340193248924148306" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Julia Query's documentary on the unionization of San Francisco's peep show strip club, The Lusty Lady. The documentary chronicles not only the amazing struggle of the dancers to win rights such as sick days, equal hours for women of color, and guaranteed wage rights, but also the personal development of Julia Query. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Query went to San Francisco, as she stated in the documentary, to be a writer and a stand up comic. She is the daughter of Dr. Joyce Wallace, activist for prostitution rights. Query unflaggingly documents her fear of informing her mother that she stripped for a living -- through clips of her stand up show, by integrating the struggle into her account of the union struggle, and finally through a confrontation with her mother at the end of the documentary. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">The documentary is an eye opener. It gives a realistic and understanding account of the problems that plague strip clubs and sex work, without either demonizing the employees of the strip clubs, or making them seem heroic in some way -- both lights seem to a problem that plague feminist interpretations of sex work. By focusing the documentary on what it set out to examine -- the working conditions and internal working problems of The Lusty Lady -- and by not making the employers and owners seem demonic or the workers seem idiotic or victims, the documentary ends up feeling more authentic. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Most enlightening were the accounts of the employment habits of strip club owners. Julia Query shows that many owners do not schedule women of color for as many shifts. In the case of her club, which is a peep show club, women of color were not scheduled at all for the private show booth. The employers said it was because women of color were not as marketable. Women with darker hair, darker skin, or anyone else who was not blond or light skin was labeled as "dark and exotic". Being labeled "dark and exotic" meant fewer scheduling hours. This makes sense, because something that is exotic won't be exotic for long if you put a large number of exotics in the same place. Another problem plaguing workers was stage fees. A stripper would be charged by the owners a certain amount to work the floor, and was made to account for their tips as they left. Women who did not make the quota of tips were in danger of losing their jobs.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Working conditions became worse and worse, and violence became more frequent in clubs. Dancers were blamed for violent acts that the customers were preforming, and management did nothing to ensure the safety of the dancers.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">The documentary shows how more and more dancers are unionizing their strip clubs, mirroring the efforts made by The Lusty Lady. Rights are being won such as better hours, better wages, and sick days. But the widespread corruption and harsh treatment of the dancers chronicled in Julia Query's documentary is heartbreaking. It is a reminder that workers in the sex industry are often forgotten or written off. </span>Tiffany Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351330450277442580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730116171750698078.post-28800360447261096852009-05-22T22:18:00.004-04:002009-05-22T22:47:23.945-04:00Yes You CAN!!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_-UyaM1ZGVLU/ShdfiRgbYTI/AAAAAAAAACY/g6GFotvfe3E/s1600-h/OS-BLUE-lg.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 185px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_-UyaM1ZGVLU/ShdfiRgbYTI/AAAAAAAAACY/g6GFotvfe3E/s320/OS-BLUE-lg.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338840925690618162" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Yes you can buy </span><a style="font-family: times new roman;" href="https://obamashoes.tv/cart/cart.php?tp=more_info&amp;sku2=OS-BLUE">these</a><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> shoes! Carry</span><a style="font-family: times new roman;" href="http://www.zazzle.com/obama_purse_bag-149776101235964948"> this</a><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> purse! Tshirts, jackets, buttons, pins, we got 'em! Line on up, join the patriarchal, democratic, hope laden consumerism!</span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Just buy the Obama sweatshirt (nevermind that it's summer), the Obama blanket, the Obama posters! Yes you can wall paper your entire living room with our fearless leader's face. He'll look on, hopeful and triumphant, handsome as Adonis, as you watch reruns of "Murder She Wrote".</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Yes You CAN! buy these shoes for your toddler. Because your toddler is old enough to read, write, and vote. Your toddler is old enough to understand economic and wartime issues. Your toddler was an intellectual contributor to the grassroots campaign.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">YES YOU CAN! buy these shoes that are promoting change! We're going to end the recession with dollars thrown at merchandise capitalizing off of our President's face, eyes, mouth, words, and of course, hope. We're going to change everything by doing something that's never been done before: marketing something or someone that is currently popular.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">You can, my good people, you can. Because you are true supporters of the cause. The moment that you saw the commercial on your satellite TV advertising these shoes, you knew you had to have them. These shoes would show everyone how politically aware you are. And every time you bent to tie your shoes, Barack Obama's canvas face would shoot an invisible, powerful beacon of hope straight into your spinal cord, straightening your back so that you can march proudly forward.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Yes you can.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">As one of my friends pointed out, it's good that people are proud of their president. And I know this same thing has been going on for a while -- just look at all the anti-Bush merchandise that was and is still available. I just wish that politically aware didn't necessarily mean having to keep up with the latest fashion trend.</span>Tiffany Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351330450277442580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730116171750698078.post-37722619799723928462009-05-22T16:19:00.006-04:002009-05-22T18:06:14.420-04:00Broun vs. Board<span style="font-family:times new roman;">Rep Paul Broun (R-GA) is campaigning to make 2010 the Year of the Bible.<span style="text-decoration: underline;"> </span></span><a style="font-family: times new roman;" href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/22832.html"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Politico</span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> reports that Broun has introduced the bill to the House of Representatives for history's sake.</span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> A commemoration, if you will. </span><br /><blockquote style="font-family: times new roman;"><br />“This doesn’t have anything to do with Christianity,” he said in an interview with POLITICO. Rather, he says, it seeks to recognize that the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1208/16813.html">Bible</a> played an integral role in the building of the United States, including providing the basis for our freedom of religion that allows Muslims, Hindus and even atheists to vocalize their own beliefs.<br /></blockquote><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Well, if you want to get technical, the Bible itself didn't have anything to do with providing that freedom of religion. The way that people were interpreting the Bible did. People were discriminating, killing, and marginalizing other people who had different beliefs about Christianity. That's just counting the Christian conflicts over religion in Europe. I'm sure there were other sects of religion that made the journey over to America.<br /><br />I am not arguing the Bible does not provide solid doctrine for tolerance of other people, and brotherly love, ect., ect., because if I did argue that, I would be an idiot. I am saying that the way this argument is formulated, it makes one think that the Christians who came over here from England to escape persecution weren't running from people using basically the same Bible.<br /><br />But the point is, most of our founding fathers were Christian. It was the dominant founding religion. So if Broun wants to argue that the Bible had influence over their thought process, lives, ect., and therefore had influence over how they started the country and made laws, fine. It probably did.<br /><br />This whole "Year of the Bible" thing sounds a bit fluffy to me though, and doesn't seem like it's going to serve any particular purpose.<br /><br />Is it going to be like Black History Month? Are Universities going to host seminars on the different sects of Christianity that developed or migrated to America? Are they going offer lecture series about Irish-Americans who were discriminated against for their Catholic beliefs? Will there be History Channel documentaries on The Faith of Our Fathers, discussing how <a href="http://www.pww.org/article/articleview/10079/">Thomas Jefferson chopped up the Bible to remove any reference to Jesus' divinity and how George Washington stopped going to church on communion days</a>?<br /><br />Probably there will be all of these things, and then some, but those events would have taken place anyways without the help of the Year of the Bible.<br /><br />While the bill probably won't ever pass (currently it finds only 15 co-sponsers), it wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, and in the end probably won't be much more than a laugh, it still seems like it's being pushed forward only as a bone to Christian supporters of Broun. But I can't blame him. He is a representative of Georgia, and we do reside in prime Bible-belt real estate. Perhaps the reason the bill doesn't sound so monumental to me is, if you go to the right areas where I live, every year is the Year of the Bible.<br /></span>Tiffany Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351330450277442580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730116171750698078.post-75294314948518468142009-05-21T16:54:00.011-04:002009-05-22T14:21:12.106-04:00Passionate Discourse<center><object width="400" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hlXSmK9tTC0&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hlXSmK9tTC0&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="375" height="344"></embed></object></center><br /><p><br /><span text="times" new="" roman="" style="font-size:85%;">During my first year in college, I discovered, along with many other discoveries, that I am moved by spoken word.</span></p><p><span text="times" new="" roman="" style="font-size:85%;">I've encountered it several times in the past year, and every time I came across an artist that spoke with integrity, passion, love, and rhythm, I was engulfed in a storm of inspiration. Gil Scott Heron and Eve Ensler are the two I have been acquainted with so far.</span></p><p><span text="times" new="" roman="" style="font-size:85%;"> I'll admit, when I discover that I like something, I often simply explore more work by that particular artist, rather than venturing further out into the genre. These artists often have to come find me for me to fall in love with them.</span></p><p><span text="times" new="" roman="" style="font-size:85%;">Aya de Leon found me. </span></p><p><span text="times" new="" roman="" style="font-size:85%;">I want more of this woman. I want her passion, I want her discourse, I want her thoughts. I want her like I wanted more of Inga Muscio after I read <i>Cunt</i>, like I wanted more of Suzette Haden Elgin after I read <i>Native Tongue</i>. </span></p><p><span text="times" new="" roman="" style="font-size:85%;">I stumbled upon Aya recently while watching a documentary made about her, <i>definition: Aya de Leon</i>. The program was recorded lazily and the timer set with only slight curiosity, to be tucked away in my DVR until I felt just bored enough to hit the play button. I'm glad Free Speech TV did play it, and that I didn't simply delete it to try and appease my father's cries for more recording time (I monopolize much of it with documentaries).</span></p><p><span text="times" new="" roman="" style="font-size:85%;">The poem "Cellulite", which I have posted here, particularly struck me. Lately I've been feeling so low anyways, so out of touch with any good feeling about myself. Normally, this manifests in an obsession with several real or imagined malfunctions that I am certain I possess. This time it is a preoccupation with the flaws of my body.</span></p><p><span text="times" new="" roman="" style="font-size:85%;">I think Aya might have inspired me to reform my lazy approach in discovering talented spoken word artists. Had I been more inclined to explore the genre, I might have found her out sooner, and perhaps could have praised her in more depth. However, this time, excitement preludes intimate knowledge.</span></p><p><span text="times" new="" roman="" style="font-size:85%;">And really, I can't say this is a particularly unpleasant change.</span></p>Tiffany Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351330450277442580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730116171750698078.post-58076767269374881542009-03-22T22:22:00.002-04:002009-03-22T22:22:59.218-04:00Addicted to This GamePlay it. Love it.<br /><br /><!-- [adult swim] embeddeble games --><script src="http://www.adultswim.com/tools/js/jquery/jquery-min.js"></script><script src="http://www.adultswim.com/tools/js/jquery/thickbox-min.js"></script><div id="pod6"></div><p><a href="http://www.adultswim.com/games/game/embedMe.html?game=surgeon&KeepThis=true&TB_iframe=true&height=675&width=610&scrolling=no&allowtransparency=yes&frameborder=no" class="thickbox">Check out this great game from [adult swim]!</a></p><!-- [adult swim] embeddeble games -->Tiffany Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351330450277442580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730116171750698078.post-15784147749083531932009-01-15T15:52:00.004-05:002009-08-04T18:44:33.429-04:00An Excersize Inspired by WMST 2010Key -<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bold</span> -- Empowering (in the "pride" sense of the word)<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Italic</span> -- Controversial (or something that can create tension)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Bold and Italic</span> -- Both<br /><br />What am I?<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">female</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">white</span>, <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Christian</span>, <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">feminist</span>,<span style="font-weight: bold;"> journalist</span>, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Irish</span>, <span style="font-weight: bold;">German</span>, <span style="font-weight: bold;">British</span>, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Cherokee</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">pierced</span>, educated, <span style="font-style: italic;">monolingual</span>, ambitious, creative, writer, <span style="font-style: italic;">vegetarian</span>, knitter, guitarist, pianist, <span style="font-style: italic;">attracted to both men and women</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">single</span>, <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">independent</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">outspoken</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">environmentalist</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Southern</span>, predominately right-handed, <span style="font-weight: bold;">geek</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">heavy set</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">big-chested</span>, self-defeating, bitchy, annoying, tactless, self-conscious, student<br /><br />Why controversial/empowering?<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Female</span> -- Controversial: for similar reasons that being male is controversial. Being a woman means that people are going to stereotype you.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">White --</span>While you can't help what you are, white guilt still factors into everything. And in opposition to what my WMST teacher suggested, I am highly aware every day that I'm white, because it has constantly been brought to my attention.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Christian </span></span>--We hold these truths to be self-evident...that most Christians don't act like their savior. Besides that, in a multiculturalist society, it's hard to lay claim to any one religion without backfire.<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Feminist </span></span></span>--One, I'm Christian and feminist. Enough said. Two, there are too many people who view feminism in a negative light (and that feminism mostly brings upon itself). Radical feminism has made a mockery of real goals.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Journalist </span>-- Do you know how cool it is to get to talk to all these different people on a regular basis, and learn their stories? It's inspiring and empowering.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Irish, German, British, Cherokee </span>-- Though I could launch on a tangent for each of these, and they culturally deserve it, it's easier to put them together, as together they do make up me. I identify primarily as Irish-German, as I know the most about my culture from those two lands. But I wish I knew more about my British and Cherokee ancestors, especially my Cherokee great-great-grandmother. That knowledge is lost to me, because when she married my great-great-grandfather, who was Irish, she was banished from her tribe. In her culture, that meant she wasn't allowed to speak about her past and people anymore.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Pierced --</span> People who have piercings, especially facial piercings, are often looked down upon.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Monolingual --</span> I'm learning Japanese, but I can't count myself as bilingual yet. Until then, I'm the stupid American.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Vegetarian </span>-- I've made the choice not to eat meat, but people do love some bacon. And they think you should like it too.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">attracted to both men and women</span><span style="font-style: italic;">--</span> Nothing's cooler and avant garde (these days) than being the popular gay girl, or more normal and socially accepted than being straight. But I'm both. Go figure.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Single --</span> A girl without a boyfriend? *gasp* A girl who may not even want a boyfriend (or a boy)? *double gasp*<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Independent </span></span>-- Taking care of yourself : awesome. Being a woman and having people expect they will have to take care of you: not so much.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Outspoken --</span> Depends on what you say, but can get you in trouble.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Environmentalist --</span> Damn tree huggers.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Southern -- </span>I'll think about that tomorrow.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Geek </span>-- There's nothing better than being a dork in modern culture. Especially since superheroes are cool now.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Heavy-set --</span> "Darling, try this new diet, it's fabulous..."<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Big-chested -- </span>I'm sorry, but if your boobs serve as a shelf, then you and everyone else in the room are going to be aware of it.<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span>Tiffany Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351330450277442580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730116171750698078.post-48523069024463683852008-08-01T20:22:00.004-04:002009-06-18T11:00:45.618-04:00War on Drugs<span style="font-family:times new roman;">In the continuing wacky adventures of The Decider before he graciously steps down, <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25940818/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">MSN</span></span></a> has decided to cover Bush's proposal of a bill that would "protecting health-care workers who object to abortion, and to birth-control methods they consider tantamount to abortion".</span><br /><br /><br /><blockquote><p>The Department of Health and Human Services is reviewing a draft regulation that would deny federal funding to any hospital, clinic, health plan or other entity that does not accommodate employees who want to opt out of participating in care that runs counter to their personal convictions, including providing birth-control pills, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">IUDs</span></span> and the Plan B emergency contraceptive. </p><p></p></blockquote><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">This reminds me of a story that ran in USA today last August (<span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">coincidentally</span> enough) about a lesbian couple who had been denied access to artificial <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">insemination</span> because the doctor objected on moral grounds. They sued, not because the doctor rejected the mother-to-be, but because he refused refer them to a hospital where the procedure could be carried out. The article also quoted single mothers who had faced a similar challenge. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">As a Christian, I can understand that there are a lot of moral conflicts that could meet any person in any work environment, and for that reason, these proposed regulations could have their pros. However, I fear this:</span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><blockquote><span style="font-family:times new roman;"></span></blockquote><blockquote><p><span style="font-family:arial;">The regulation would apply to anyone who participates in "any activity with a logical connection to a procedure, health service or health service program, or research activity. . . . This includes referral, training and other arrangements of the procedure, health service, or research activity."<br />Critics argue that the broad definitions of abortion and the types of workers who could object would cover everyone from the top doctor at a hospital to the janitor. </span></p><p></p></blockquote><br /></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;">And this:</span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span><br /> The regulation could trump dozens of state laws that require health plans to cover birth control, pharmacists to fill prescriptions for contraceptives, and hospitals to offer emergency contraception to women who have been raped, critics said.<br /><blockquote><p>"You could imagine a group of people with less than honorable intentions seeking to get hired at a family planning clinic with the specific objective of obstructing access. Under this regulation, there is little you could do about it," said Jill Morrison of the National Women's Law Center. </p></blockquote><br /><p><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Most importantly, this:</span><br /></p><blockquote></blockquote><blockquote>Others said the rule could have additional implications, including justifying discrimination against gays, single women or others seeking health care.<br />"As soon as you have a definition in one part of federal law, it can become the inspiration for the reinterpretation of other statutes," said R. Alta Charo, a lawyer and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">bioethicist</span></span> at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.<br /></blockquote><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Because of this:</span><br /><blockquote><p>The most controversial section defines abortion as "any of the various procedures -- including the prescription, dispensing and administration of any drug or the performance of any procedure or any other action -- that results in the termination of life of a human being in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">utero</span></span> between conception and natural birth, whether before or after implantation."<br />That definition would include most forms of hormonal birth control and the IUD, which most major medical groups believe do not constitute abortion because they primarily affect ovulation or fertilization and not an embryo once it has implanted in the womb.<br /></p><p></p></blockquote><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Here's where I try to make suggestions, knowing that drafting a bill that doesn't infringe on <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">some person's</span> rights is problematic at best, and that this particular government has been trying for ages to negate the rulings of Roe vs. Wade without thinking about the implications to women's health (see <a href="http://diclosuresofadirtyfeminist.blogspot.com/2008/07/lets-do-timewarp-again.html">previous post </a>on John McCain's view on current issues).</span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">I'd like to say that if you work in a public institution, you should know that your duty is to serve the people in the best manner possible, and if you cannot provide a service, you should refer that person to someone who can. But I know that some people probably wish to get out of the public heath care system and into a private institution.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">All I can say is that restrictions on contraception, abortion, and other things that apply to planned parenting should be limited to private institutions, who can make up their own rules and owe nothing to the public or the government. Governmental institutions should serve the people. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Though military workers may disagree with the war that is currently being fought, it is generally considered their duty to follow orders as long as those orders are lawful.</span> <span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Lawyers are expected to make inquiries into the guilt or innocence of their clients so that no guilty men or women are set free, and no innocents detained, and they are expected to do their best to uphold the law despite personal feelings. Medical workers are expected to uphold their duties, which is to help people solve their health concerns. This does not mean they always have to go against their beliefs, but if they work in a public location they should at least be required to give the people a resource for what they choose to do. The path to contraception should not be closed off for any one party's interest. That doesn't mean that consideration for each party's feelings can't be considered in full.</span>Tiffany Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351330450277442580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730116171750698078.post-80022786880063042392008-08-01T17:24:00.004-04:002008-08-01T17:36:38.010-04:00Tipping the Scales<span style="font-family:times new roman;">Update of previous commentary found <a href="http://diclosuresofadirtyfeminist.blogspot.com/2008/07/mary-go-round.html">here</a>.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Fat Princess continues to make headlines -- not because it's a highly anticipated gaming marvel, or because it's graphics kick any particular hindquaters, but because of protest on the blogosphere -- particular Shakesville's Melissa McEwan's protests.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">MSNBC's Kristin Kalning wrote a <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25939266/">darling little column </a>on the scandal -- one that drips with sincerity, fair play, and decent writing abilities</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Snarky reporters - 1; Journalism - 0.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span>Tiffany Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351330450277442580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730116171750698078.post-51573429723210215252008-08-01T13:02:00.006-04:002008-08-01T14:42:45.811-04:00Gimme Just a Little Kiss...<p><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/HI03ckxqTm8&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/HI03ckxqTm8&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></p><p><span style="font-family:times new roman;">This story was so <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">ludicrous</span> that it caught my attention. Every once in a while, "respectable" televised news programs will air a segment that is so beyond trivial that it should be brought to their attention how meaningless it is. </span></p><p><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Apparently on Monday, July 28<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">th</span>, The View hosted a pop singer by the name of Katy Perry. She sang her hit "I Kissed a Girl", which along with her song "UR So Gay" has <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">received</span> a lot of criticism on being too controversial for her audience's demographic. </span></p><p><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Britney Spears, who at one time was idolized by eight-year-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">olds</span>, once preformed in a nude-colored catsuit. What could be so controversial?</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">But what really has critics and conservative parents outraged is that at the end of the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">performance</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Whoopi</span> Goldberg gave Perry a little peck. The kiss in question was on the same level as some European greetings. Yet, according to the ten minute debate that aired on last night's episode of The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">O'Reilly</span> Factor, this "controversy" shouldn't have been aired by ABC at all, as some parents are concerned that their daughters could be affected by the media's <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">blatant</span> acceptance of experimentation.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">If the parents are letting their impressionable daughters watch The View, especially during a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">performance</span> of a song titled "I Kissed a Girl", and are concerned that a small kiss from Goldberg is going to send their daughters over the homosexual edge, then they should really learn to control what their kids watch. Instead, they make censorship demands, something that should never happen in a society that claims that freedom of speech is a priority. The level of outrage that has <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">occurred</span> over something so minor suggests just how deep homophobic beliefs and feelings run in America.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Also, The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">O'Reilly</span> Factor could be talking about something more meaningful that a harmless incident that happened on a daytime talk show. But, as I've never been that impressed with Bill <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">O'Reilly</span>, I can't say I'm surprised.</span></p>Tiffany Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351330450277442580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730116171750698078.post-74404610302807408782008-07-31T14:41:00.005-04:002008-07-31T21:27:55.127-04:00Good to the Last Drop<a href="http://www.pussydrinks.com/images/pussy-can.gif"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 171px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 404px" height="754" alt="" src="http://www.pussydrinks.com/images/pussy-can.gif" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><br /></span><div><a href="http://www.womanist-musings.com/"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Womanist</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Musing's</span> </span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Renee guest posted information about a very intriguing commodity on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Shakesville</span> today. I'm sure that soon everyone, in addition to their Red Bulls, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Rockstars</span>, and Monsters, will be downing countless numbers of Pussies.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Yes, that's right, <a href="http://www.pussydrinks.com/home.html">Pussy: The Energy Drink (with added milk thistle!).</a></span></div><br /><p><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Isn't it a testament to our creative abilities as human beings that we can find the ingenuity to market a popular item like an energy drink under the crude pet name for a woman's vagina?</span></p><p><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Created by a 21 year old who apparently was bored and mixing drinks in the middle of the night, Pussy has become an instant hit in Britain, and was featured in the British show "The F Word".</span></p><p><span style="font-family:times new roman;">As delicious as I'm sure Pussy is, I wonder if anyone would be equally enthusiastic about drinking Testes (twice the flavor of other drinks) or Prick (Hard on energy).</span></p><p><span style="font-family:times new roman;">If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times: other people can have the energies of red bulls, monsters, or <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">rock stars</span>, but I prefer to have Pussy energy.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Pussy is on sale for a mere £36.00 per case (24 cans) or £5.99 for a sample pack of 2 cans. With the current exchange rate, that's just $72 per case (just think of the savings)! Now you can be the misogynistic hit of any party. Just pop that virgin top, and drain. Then dispose of your useless Pussy in the nearest recyclable bin.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:times new roman;">General fun for all, isn't it?</span></p>Tiffany Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351330450277442580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730116171750698078.post-18188782058481789262008-07-31T12:29:00.002-04:002008-07-31T13:01:21.971-04:00Let's Do the Timewarp Again<span style="font-family:times new roman;">McCain's campaign has recently released videos accusing the media of being in love with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Obama</span>, and with good reason. Very rarely in this tempestuous season have the issues that McCain stands for or against been addressed -- even in his own speeches. Often in the CNN televised speeches given by McCain, he spends at least half of his time talking about his opponent's weaknesses...and not about what he believes or will do. I believe that McCain plans to win on a scare tactic: "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Obama</span> will bring more taxes, will not solve the economic crisis, and will continue our dependence on foreign oil".</span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;"></span><br /><a href="http://georgiawomenvote.blogspot.com/2008/07/mccain-and-obama-both-focused-on-obama.html"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Georgia Women Vote </span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;">made the comment that McCain's website even is <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Obama</span> central.</span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">So to remind myself what McCain stands for, besides <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">back lashing</span>, I went to his campaign website and took a look.</span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">One of the first things that caught my eye was his plan to repeal the decisions of </span><a href="http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/95b18512-d5b6-456e-90a2-12028d71df58.htm"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Roe vs. Wade </span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;">and return verdict to state level. His <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">ultimate</span> goal in abolishing abortion is outlined, containing quips like "the fight for life will be one of courage and compassion - the courage of a pregnant mother to bring her child into the world and the compassion of civil society to meet her needs and those of her newborn baby". The way he phrases it, it makes it sound as though society has forced these women to abort their <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">pregnancies</span>. One of his first tactics is to relieve individuals of responsibility and make it a philosophical fight rather than what it would be if abortion were made illegal again: a medical one. </span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">His next issue outlined is adoption. While adoption is fantastic, I love the subtle hint to abortion, yet again, in his plan to " promote adoption as a first option for women struggling with a crisis pregnancy". The next time I meet someone who plans on having an abortion, I'm going to encourage them to call it a "crisis pregnancy".</span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">McCain seems to encourage a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">time warp</span> of sorts -- back into the time when contraception was illegal, when abortion was punishable by law, and when women had to go to <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">back alleys</span> or endanger themselves with <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">coat hangers</span>. By repealing Roe vs. Wade, we put an entire generation of work in danger, and we put ourselves in danger. We are already in the middle of a food shortage globally. We cannot afford another age of baby boomers. We cannot afford to continue on our path of abstinence only education. We cannot afford an age where condoms are not available, and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">STDs</span> spread more quickly because people do not know how to protect themselves. </span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">I encourage voter's to go to each candidates website, especially the three leading: </span><a href="http://www.bobbarr2008.com/splash/video/?s0618"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Bob Barr</span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;">, </span><a href="http://www.johnmccain.com/"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">John McCain</span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;">, and </span><a href="http://www.barackobama.com/index.php"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Barack</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Obama</span></span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;">. Only by understanding the issues from each candidates perspective can we vote intelligently and bring ourselves forward, rather than backtracking into the past, or (what could be considered worse) continuing on the fruitless path we're on. Everyone needs to vote in November. Rights are endanger, and policies that are negative to the health of our country are being proposed.</span>Tiffany Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351330450277442580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730116171750698078.post-82780975572213051352008-07-30T14:16:00.007-04:002008-07-31T10:54:47.236-04:00Holy Memorabilia, Batman!<div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">YES! Finally, someone for Adam West to play with! He's been wanting a nemesis for so long. You hear that, Adam? It's time for you to drag out your tights and cape, and stop the ever <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">narcissistic</span> Joker!<br /><br /></span><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-odd-joker-arrested,1,7013927.story"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Los Angeles Times </span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;">reports a man who apparently dressed up like the Joker and attempted to steal Batman memorabilia. One of the most intriguing parts of this particular crime caper is that Spencer "Joker" Taylor of Three Rivers, Michigan apparently does not have a phone listing in that area.<br /><br />So we have a criminal who dresses like a clown who comes equipped with a mysterious background and youthful energy (did I mention he's twenty?). The only problem: Adam West will have a hard time bringing down the youthful Joker...or so one would think. Apparently Batman's greatest enemy was detained by theater employees.<br /><br />One must remember that in Issue #47 Batman discovered the Joker's greatest fear: popcorn.</span><br /><br /><br /></div><div align="center"><strong>Say Cheese, Spence!</strong></div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://hosted.ap.org/photos/A/a3b842e7-2948-4457-9da5-f34ac136dad0-big.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:78%;">Picture Courtesy of Associated Press.</span><br /></p><div align="center"></div><br /><blockquote></blockquote>Tiffany Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351330450277442580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730116171750698078.post-18075478255131292432008-07-29T10:39:00.005-04:002008-08-01T14:39:45.673-04:00The "Mary-Go-Round"<div><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Here's something interesting. Apparently a feminist gamer group is protesting a new game released by Sony: Fat Princess. </span><a href="http://videogames.yahoo.com/feature/feminists-cry-foul-over-fat-princess/1232315"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Yahoo! News </span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;">debates reveals the inner conflict.</span> </div><div><br /><a href="http://l.yimg.com/jh/content/p/2/1232317/screen001.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://l.yimg.com/jh/content/p/2/1232317/screen001.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Debuting at last week's E3 expo, the colorful Fat Princess is a capture-the-flag game with a twist: you can thwart capture attempts by locking the once-thin princess in a dungeon and stuffing her full of cake, thereby increasing her girth and making her harder for your enemies to haul back to home base.</div><blockquote><p><a href="http://www.feministgamers.com/">Feminist <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Gamer's</span> </a>"Mighty <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Ponygirl</span>" rings in diplomatically, suggesting a new way to play the game altogether. </p><p>"Instead of running out into the forest to find cake to fatten up the princess with, why not go out and find gold (which is a lot heavier than cake) to stuff into a treasure chest. The more gold in the chest, the heavier it would be, and the harder it would be to carry," she said, before adding, "Oh, but that's not as "cute" as cake and fat chicks. Right." </p><p>Over at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"><a href="http://shakespearessister.blogspot.com/">Shakesville</a></span>, however, writer Melissa <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">McEwan</span> cuts to the chase, telling Sony she's "positively thrilled to see such unyielding dedication to creating a new generation of fat-hating, heteronormative ---holes." </p><br /><p></p></blockquote><div><span style="font-family:times new roman;">I tend to agree with my gaming sisters (what else is new?), but for other reasons. The game tends to be offensive because it proposes that a woman is a flag, which brings to mind the point in history where women were legally <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">possessions</span>. If Sony finds it hard to understand why the game offends feminists, I challenge them to replace the rotund female with a burly black man carrying gardening tools.</span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">However, in defense of Sony, they are merely following the formula for best selling games. There are other games that are wildly popular and make it their business to be as offensive as possible. "Grand Theft Auto", for example. It is impossibly for any video game to be polite and agreeable to society. Video games are offensive simply by being video games. "Mario" is offensive to some people because they see the numerous mushrooms as referring to a drug subculture, and believe that those games are influencing their children to buy drugs. Some people might find Sonic offensive because <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Sonic's</span> main goal is to gather coins as quickly as possible, thereby pushing forth the sin of greed.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">It's not how the game is offensive, it's in what way the game attempts to be offensive. Sony's "Fat Princess" <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">is</span> a disgrace to the very idea of video-games, not because of it's slightly off-color message, but because of lack of originality. If you're going to be offensive, do it properly.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">For instance, w</span><span style="font-family:times new roman;">hat if the object of the game was not to drive the princess into obesity, but to cure the princess of anorexia and rescue her from enemies that are rapists and obsessed with Twiggy? As most of us know, the purpose of capturing any princess is to disgrace her kingdom and to take advantage of her. And most of us also know that the market Sony is pushing the game towards finds people who are overweight unattractive. So, in making Fat Princess obese, her rescuers could lose interest in her, and attempt shove her off on their enemies. So the enemies wouldn't want her either, and her rescuers would have to make her skinnier to make her <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">desirable</span> again. All of this "off-and-on" attention would give the princess a complex and cause her to regain her eating disorder. Also the amount of sugar she took in would make her diabetic, and you would have to try and get your enemies to take the fat princess back before her extremities fell off. In the bonus level you could have an endless supply of insulin to keep her healthy.</span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Now you've made a game worth being offended over.<br /></div></span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"></span>Tiffany Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351330450277442580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730116171750698078.post-57904491156733794482008-07-24T16:55:00.002-04:002008-07-26T22:58:22.221-04:00We Will Not Be Moved<span style="font-family:times new roman;">I have made my first protest video. I think it went rather well. Mostly, it's a protest of using religious grounds to harrass or belittle other people. But it also applies to all hate crimes, and is a warning that hatred is petty, stupid, and useless.</span><br /><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/U7SoSLZn6z4&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/U7SoSLZn6z4&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Tiffany Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351330450277442580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730116171750698078.post-54159638823747914052008-07-19T16:24:00.005-04:002008-07-26T22:57:34.020-04:00A Priest, A Rabbi, and A Man Who Twists Comedy...<span style="font-family:times new roman;">While surfing the 'Cartoons and Humor' section of the New York Times' website, an interesting story caught my eye. The full story can be found on <a href="http://borowitzreport.com/article.aspx?ID=6896"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Borowitz</span> Report.com.</a></span><br /><br /><blockquote><p>Saying he is "sympathetic to late night comedians' struggle to find jokes<br />to make about me," Sen. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Barack</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Obama</span> (D-Ill) today issued a list of official<br />campaign-approved <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Barack</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Obama</span> jokes. </p><p>The five jokes, which Sen. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Obama</span> said he is making available to all comedians free of charge, are as follows:</p><p><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Barack</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Obama</span> and a kangaroo pull up to a gas station. The gas station attendant takes one look at the kangaroo and says, "You know, we don't get many kangaroos here." <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Barack</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Obama</span> replies, "At these prices, I'm not surprised. That's why we need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil."</p><p>A traveling salesman knocks on the door of a farmhouse, and much to his surprise, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Barack</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Obama</span> answers the door. The salesman says, "I was expecting the farmer's daughter." <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Barack</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Obama</span> replies, "She's not here. The farm was foreclosed on because of <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">sub prime</span> loans that are making a mockery of the American Dream." </p><p>A horse walks into a bar. The bartender says, "Why the long face?" <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Barack</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Obama</span> replies, "His jockey just lost his health insurance, which should be the right of all Americans."</p><p>Q: What's black and white and red all over? <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Barack</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Obama</span>: The New Yorker magazine, which should be embarrassed after publishing such a tasteless and offensive cover, which I reject and denounce. </p><p>A Christian, a Jew and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Barack</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Obama</span> are in a rowboat in the middle of the ocean. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Barack</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">Obama</span> says, "This joke isn't going to work because there's no Muslim in this boat." </p><blockquote></blockquote><p><br /></p></blockquote><span style="font-family:times new roman;">On one hand, I can see the humor in these policy jokes. It's refreshing to find a candidate who can make not-so-subtle jabs at comedians stunned reactions. On the other hand, they're not stunned for lack of material. They're stunned because so often this political season, jokes that are made in favor of a candidate are denounced as offensive, and jokes that are meant to be offensive are found humorous.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">The best example of this is, of course, the infamous cover of the New Yorker. Personally, I found it funny. Why? Because the New Yorker was making fun of the absurd allegations put forth by emails, hate-mongers, and Fox News, in order to make the public realize how absurd their fear was. And I understand why the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">Obamas</span> would be so upset. Some people who don't understand satire would view it more as a confirmation of their fears rather than a joke. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">But the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">Obamas</span> should have just said that. "We don't want our persons portrayed in that kind of negative light, linking us with Islamic terrorists". Instead, they said that it was "offensive to Muslim Americans". </span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">No. It's not. Assuming that all Muslims are terrorists is offensive to Muslim Americans. Proposing that having an Islamic president would be a bad thing is offensive to Muslim Americans. A satirical cover making fun of fears based on nothing is not offensive to Muslim Americans.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">And I would go off on how stupid the term Muslim American is (I don't insist on being catered to as a Christian American, and I've never heard my nephew assert his rights as an Atheist American), but that's an entirely different rant.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><br /><br /></span>Tiffany Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351330450277442580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730116171750698078.post-16771659049936339402008-07-17T14:46:00.008-04:002008-12-08T16:55:19.628-05:00Mine Eyes Have Seen...Well, Not the Glory<span style="font-family:times new roman;">If you thought the cover of the New Yorker was disturbing...well, then you have no appreciation for satire.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">If you want to see how this race has become truly disturbing...</span><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><a href="http://obamamessiah.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2006-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&amp;updated-max=2007-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&amp;max-results=1">Barack Obama the Messiah</a> </span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><a href="http://www.barackobamaantichrist.blogspot.com/">Barack Obama the Anti-Christ</a></span></div><br /><br /><div align="left"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">One seems to be the ravings a lunatic who has been reading a very warped version of the Bible. One seems to be a satirical site dedicated to making fun of the news. You get to pick which is which.</span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Oh, in case you're curious who is on the current suspect list for Anti-Christ.</span></div><br /><br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Anti-Christ</span></strong></div><ol><li><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><a href="http://www.bushisantichrist.com/">George W. Bush</a></span></div></li><li><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Patrick Stewart</span></div></li><li><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2007/06/01/notes060107.DTL">Lindsay Lohan</a></span></div></li><li><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Jon Stewart</span></div></li><li><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Stewie Griffin</span></div></li><li><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Bono</span></div></li><li><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Bjork</span></div></li><li><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Cthulu</span></div></li><li><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Flying Speghetti Monster</span></div></li><li><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Some Satan-Possessed Dude</span></div></li></ol><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">For more info, consult the <a href="http://www.burnsidewriterscollective.com/general/2007/02/the_antichrist_watch.php">Anti-Christ Watch</a>.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">And one more thing...</span><br /><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><strong></strong></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><strong>DRINK THE OBAMA KOOL-AID</strong></span></div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_1ihUIofCaxs/SFH8DFXT9II/AAAAAAAAAMQ/gHRgYgIeWCI/S220/kkoolad.bmp" border="0" /> <p align="center">OH YEAH</p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:78%;">The above is a uncopyrighted picture and slogan found on the Obama Anti-Chirst blog. Some restrictions apply. Results may vary.</span><br /></p>Tiffany Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351330450277442580noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730116171750698078.post-56948029497072042382008-07-15T13:17:00.003-04:002008-07-15T13:34:40.019-04:00She's a Witch! Burn Her!<span style="font-family:times new roman;">As time grows closer and closer for me to go to college, my concerns increase over whether or not I will be able to find a church that fits my needs. After all, I am in the perfect church for me right now. But Athens will be a different theological ballpark, and I wish to choose wisely.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">So while leafing through an informational <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">brochure</span> I was given during orientation about the campus churches provided, I noticed one dedicated to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Baha'ism</span>. I had no idea what that was, so I looked it up. And while I still have more reading to do on the theological principal of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Baha'ism</span>, I was distracted by a radical "doom-and-gloom" Christian site preaching the different theological evils that threaten to rip our souls from our spinal chords. And while I was reading about how <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Baha'is</span> were demonic forces, I happened to notice a link to another social heresy.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Can you guess what it was?</span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><a href="http://www.jeremiahproject.com/prophecy/feminist.html">Feminism</a></span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">On the Jeremiah Project's site, you can find out how every feminist leader has set forth an agenda to change the traditional Christian church to a New Age fellowship that worships the ancient goddess, how feminism is rooted in Satanism rather than the equality of the sexes, and how Christian women who advocate understanding and political/social equality really came from abusive homes, are equipped with weak wills/minds, and how women in the workforce are destroying American values and will eventually kill the country.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Yes. I'm a witch.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">And with my Satan worshipping and magic brews, I will bring about the will of the goddess to smite the ignorance of this <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">pseudo</span>-Christian, who spreads hate and intolerance, rather than truth and Christ's love. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">I'm sure that some of the people he has quoted, and some of the incidents he cites, have some sort of merit. I'm sure that in the Feminist movement there are radicals that wish for every woman to worship a goddess, or believe that patriarchal churches are indeed destroying women.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">I also realize that, ironically, my anger over his intolerance is against the Christian doctrine. Which tells readers two things about me:</span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">1) I am not perfect and need to continue my relationship with God.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">2) I hate stupidity, which leads to number 1.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">More than likely, I will be back later with more on the Jeremiah Project, right after I finish reading The Feminist Infiltration of the Church. Should be entertaining.</span>Tiffany Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351330450277442580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730116171750698078.post-82135877633107400572008-06-26T15:34:00.002-04:002008-06-26T15:53:36.761-04:00Weather Report<span style="font-family:times new roman;">China can control the weather. No, really, I'm not kidding.</span><br /><blockquote><p><br />Using an arsenal of rockets, artillery and aircraft, China will try to blast the clouds out of the sky, a meteorologist told a Beijing magazine, through a technique which falls under the umbrella of "cloud seeding." - <a href="http://http//www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/06/05/china.rain/index.html">CNN</a></p><p></p><p></p></blockquote><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">According to <a href="http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=11269">dailytech.com</a>, China is so confident that the war on weather will be successful that it has planned to host the Olympics in a roofless stadium nicknamed "The Bird's Nest".</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Daily tech outlines how China plans to control the amount of rain. China also plans to have </span><a href="http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/IH09Ad01.html"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">influence over amount of smog in the city during the Olympics</span></a><span style="font-family:times new roman;">. They explain that as a last ditch attempt, China will shoot concentrated amounts of liquid nitrogen into the clouds in an attempt to make the rain drops smaller so that the clouds can pass over the where the Olympics will be held. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">You know, seeing as how China is having just as many natural disasters as we in America are, I'm going to guess that firing off weapons into the atmosphere probably won't help the pollution problems they have that caused the smog problems they already have. Which means that every runner at the Olympics should feel very proud of themselves. They have faced a challenge that China has shouted to the world at large: "I bet you can't run while breathing".</span>Tiffany Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351330450277442580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730116171750698078.post-41020838209718507592008-05-27T15:18:00.002-04:002008-05-27T15:54:17.011-04:00We're All Colorful<span style="font-family:times new roman;">I love having a colorful family. As a writer, a colorful family is my greatest asset. Do you think Hemingway had a colorful family? Of course not. That's why he shot himself. You have so many topics to write about when you have a colorful family.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">When people say "colorful" today, they normally mean politically incorrect. That's the politically correct term for it. Truly PC people know that to be politically correct you must be PC about your political correctness. I'm politically correct. My family is colorful.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Another fact that aids my ability to write is the many eras my family members span. Take my paternal grandfather, for example. He's ninety, one of the kindest men you will ever meet, soft spoken, loving, sexist, and a white <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">supremest</span>. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">He's allowed to have the last two traits without being at fault, of course, because he's ninety. When he was young, it was fashionable to be a white <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">supremest</span>. They had entire movements in Germany devoted to it. White supremacy really didn't go out of style until the seventies. By the time the seventies came around, he was already close to sixty, and more than set in his ways. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">My grandfather's racist comments must be taken with a grain of salt. Ignorance may be bliss for those suffering from it, but for the rest of us, it's pure comedy. Don't believe me? Watch any Chris Rock comedy special. There is a reason that Time named him one of the most influential people alive. </span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">An example of said racist comments would be his recent excursion to the hospital. He's having slight trouble with his colon, and will be having surgery tomorrow (pray that he comes through safely).When he was first admitted, he doctor was a black gentleman and so was his cardiologist. Later, in the ICU, his nurse was Indian. He wondered aloud why we couldn't hire doctors that weren't foreigners or "niggers". </span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Interesting enough, though, in his tirade he seemed to imply that black people were foreigners as well. it makes one wonder if white people are the only true Americans (in his mind, at least). Are Native Americans truly native to the average ninety year old? And are white foreigners American?</span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">I've also noticed that racism, and most other frowned-upon isms, are acceptable before 4 p.m. on local daytime television (Jerry Springer, Judge Judy, soap operas). Does that mean that all screen writers for shows before 4 are ninety year-old white <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">supremest</span>? Or does it simply mean that all white-<span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">supremest</span> over the age of 89 sleep after 4 p.m.?</span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">I'd like to make the point, however, that if we were truly honest with ourselves, we'd realize that we are all colorful. For example, one day my children or grandchildren may be looking back on the post, and believe that I am a youth <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">supremest</span> (which is much like any other <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">supremest</span>, but with a Starbucks).</span>Tiffany Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351330450277442580noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730116171750698078.post-55089213934322281392008-05-08T20:35:00.003-04:002008-05-13T19:56:27.524-04:00I'll Take That Bloody Slab of Fat with Some Bacon Please!!<span style="font-family:times new roman;">I love reading columns. A well written, thought-out, and (in the right scenario) humorous column can cheer me up on the worst news day. And lately we've had several of those.<br />So while sorting through the news page on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">MSN</span>, I stumbled upon <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2190872">this</a> treasure. It entails a certain writer's experience with being a vegetarian, and (more-so than the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">meatlessness</span>) the strange reactions he's <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">received</span> over the years.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">In similar fashion, I have decided to disclose my past experimentation. Now, once I go to college, I plan fully to convert to leaf-eating. But as I live with my parents right now (born-and-raised deep Southern Baptist. The cow isn't sinful, but leaving it's fleshy carcass <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">unchewed</span> is) I wish to go without the normal conversation that revolves around whether humus or hamburger would win in a culinary competition.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Now, first let me give an expanation for my herbivore behavior. I have nothing against meat eaters. It has to happen. Hunting is fine, as long as you eat as much of the animal as possible. No hunting for sport. Want to eat a cow? Sure. Just kill it in a humane way. Same thing with all the other animals. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">But me...well, I've lost my taste for meat. I start to chew it, and then the flavor suddenly falls. I suddenly think about how much better a Boca patty tastes. I blame this on the trip I took to the Holy Land when I was in third grade. You try seeing slabs of meat covered with flies hanging by Captain Hook's spare parts. Not pretty. And definently not sanitary.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">And I have that flashback everytime my mom drags me past the meat department in the store. Besides that, the very concept of chewing on something else's carcass is disgusting. And do you know what a hotdog is made of? Do you know what jerky is? Gross...</span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">But to each his own. However, that maxim is not exactly one that is frequently practiced in my home. So when my father found out that had gone <em>sans </em>meat for six weeks during my stay at the Governor's Honors Program, he nearly gave birth to the cow he aspired to eat. According to him, meat is God's gift to men, and if you don't eat it, you are a heretic and will go straight to hell.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">I bet a Boca patty is tasty grilled over satanic fire.</span>Tiffany Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351330450277442580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730116171750698078.post-2511374217734210532008-05-01T20:25:00.004-04:002008-05-08T20:51:46.081-04:00Happy National Prayer Day!<a href="http://www.foxnews.com/images/367473/2_61_ultrasound.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.foxnews.com/images/367473/2_61_ultrasound.jpg" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:times new roman;">Now, let me catch you up on some interesting news:</span><br /><div><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span></div><br /><div><< <span style="font-family:times new roman;">This picture is the subject of a Fox News report. A woman saw Jesus in her ultrasound. All I have to ask is...where is the kid? I mean, I see Jesus, but I'm thinking <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">maybe</span> the kid is breached? Head at the bottom, and that's his legs...and his, well, butt where Jesus' head is?</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span></div><div><a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0%2C2933%2C353230%2C00.html">http://www.foxnews.com/story/0%2C2933%2C353230%2C00.html</a></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Erm</span>...anyways.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">In other ridiculous news...</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span></div><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-C9bkuJliMY"></a></div><br /><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-C9bkuJliMY&amp;hl=en"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-C9bkuJliMY&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Another good reason why <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Obama</span> should win. Coffee fuels both politics and the media. If Hillary can't get the coffee, then Hillary <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">definitely</span> can't get the votes.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Side note</span>: <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">super delegates</span> don't drink coffee.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">This is a pointless post. Mainly because this is pointless news.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">Oh, and go see Iron Man!!!</span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, PRAY!!! Not just today, too, because you can pray other days besides the National Day of Prayer.</span>Tiffany Stevenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17351330450277442580noreply@blogger.com1